Despite no cases being listed and staff seen stripping the building of its belongings this week, the Government insists it remains open.

Mr Tyrie said: “The Ministry of Justice gave a firm commitment that the court would not be closed until this was in place – both to me in correspondence, and in the House of Commons.

“Closing the courts without a reasonable alternative would be very bad for my constituents.

“They would be faced with unacceptable travel times to reach the nearest court.

“It would also be a breach of faith by the Ministry.

“The decision to close the Crown Court was a mistake. I argued against it vigorously at the time.

“As a result of recent Freedom of Information requests, it now appears that the Ministry itself acknowledged at the time of their decision that other courts might not be able to absorb Chichester’s workload.

“The decision might have been more understandable if a sound economic case had been made in support of it.

“As far as I’m aware, no such case exists.”

Mr Tyrie’s strong words come after the Observer published details Resolution West Sussex’s Freedom of Information request, which show the Government’s top civil servants planned to keep Chichester’s crown court open after raising ‘significant concerns’, closing just the magistrates and county courts in the city.